Transfer Credit Policy

Transfer coursework will be evaluated according to the following standards in accordance with policies established by the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State system:

All college courses in which a student has received a grade of A, B, C, D or P (Pass) at regionally accredited, liberal arts, post-secondary institutions shall be considered for transfer.
If the student’s cumulative GPA at the originating institution is less than 2.00, only grades of P, C and higher will be considered, unless the course can be used to satisfy a Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) goal requirement. Students retain the right to appeal the acceptance of credits.
Duplicate credits cannot be awarded for equivalent courses.
Up to 16 credits of public or private regionally accredited technical college coursework shall be considered for credit if the coursework was completed with a grade of P, C or higher and the student’s cumulative GPA at the technical college was 2.0 or higher, unless the course can be used to satisfy a Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) goal requirement. Students retain the right to appeal the acceptance of credits.
Grades earned for transfer coursework shall not be computed in the student’s GPA on the Normandale transcript, but they will be included in the calculation of the GPA required for the MnTC and graduation.
Credits earned by examination at a regionally accredited post-secondary institution will be considered for transfer.
Credit achieved through experiential learning processes shall be evaluated, following a student’s petition, according to published national standard guidelines established by the American Council on Education (ACE), the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and other similar national organizations.
In accordance with Minnesota Statutes §197.775, Subdivision 2, Recognition of Courses, credit may be granted for military training or service if courses meet the standards of the American Council on Education or the equivalent. Information about military credit transfer options can be viewed at www.minnstate.edu/military. Up to 16 technical and/or vocational credits and an unlimited number of associate and baccalaureate credits will be accepted for unduplicated course content.
Credits earned in competency-based education programs will transfer as general electives unless approved for other requirements.
Transfer decisions are not made solely on the source of accreditation. Non-collegiate work and coursework from non-regionally accredited institutions recognized by Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the U.S. Department of Education will be considered on a course-by-course basis through the academic petition process.
Coursework completed at an international college or university will be considered for transfer if recommended by a professional credential evaluation service that is recognized by the Association of International Educators (AIE) or the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).

Transfer Credit Appeals

Appeals of the transcript evaluation are done by completing the Academic Petition eform, available on the Official Forms page of the Normandale website. The academic petition will be reviewed by an academic dean and, if appropriate, the academic department. Notification of the outcome will be emailed to the student’s my.normandale.edu account within three weeks of the date the petition was received.

If a student is not satisfied with the college’s transfer appeal decision, the student may submit a request to the Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs for a System level appeal of the college’s transfer appeal decision.

A student shall appeal a transfer decision at the college or university level prior to appeal at the system level.
The system level appeal request shall include a copy of the college or university transfer appeal decision with supporting rationale, transcript and other documentation.
To be considered, the student appeal for a decision that involves credits from system colleges and universities must have the support of the chief academic officer or designee of the sending system college or university. When a transfer decision involves credit earned at an institution outside the system colleges and universities, the support of a chief academic officer or designee is not required.
Upon receipt of the system level appeal, there shall be a review by Minnesota State system office transfer staff. The review shall be based on course descriptions, outlines, objectives, learning outcomes, and/or other relevant information. The transfer staff shall submit a recommendation to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs.

The Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs shall make a final determination regarding disposition of the appeal. The decision of the Senior Vice Chancellor shall be binding on all system college and university parties. Additional information can be found at www.mntransfer.org/students/plan/s_tap.php under “Always Keep in Mind.”